First Cuppa Coffee – February 10, 2012 Friday: War on Women Edition

Mea Culpa!…. There is some sort of killer gastro-intestinal virus circulating out there in the real world; trust me, I know because I’ve spent the last few days too sick to surf. Thanks to OB Joe and all the others who’ve pitched in and helped.

The Great White Republican Machine continues to spew forth lies. Faced with news that the economy may actually be improving despite their best efforts to sabotage it, GOPer’s have picked up on the whining of a few Catholic Bishops to manufacture the greatest threat to the Constitution since… [Pick one]. And just to be clear, at no point has the Obama administration required Churches to provide birth control coverage for their employees. Here’s what the hubub is about: Houses of worship do not have to provide insurance that covers contraception, but those organizations which are affiliated with a church or temple such as a hospital, a college, or charity must offer such coverage.

Cave-in in progress… As I am writing this, the White House is maneuvering to announce a “concession” on this issue, a compromise saying that insurer for the religious entities in question, rather than the employer, would be responsible for providing contraceptive coverage free of charge for employees. Insurers would also be responsible for informing employees of those benefits.

Never mind that twenty-eight states already have “contraceptive equity” in their insurance plans. In 2004 the California Supreme Court found that religious organizations whose employees are not Catholic have a right to birth control through their insurance as a protection of workers’ rights. The U.S. Supremes refused to hear the appeal.

Keep ‘em barefoot & pregnant… Yet even now Catholic bishops are seeking to expand the exemption to any business owned by a Catholic. And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wants even more: his “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” allows any institution or corporation to cut off birth control coverage simply by citing religious grounds.

Rick Santorum has become the GOP wannabes’ flavor of the week and righteous Rick quotes are flowing like Jaeger shots at frat party…. In addition to the usual doom and gloom references about “Obamacare” in his stump speech, the Rickster is now telling audiences that parents will need to ‘pay tribute’ to Washington to get healthcare for their children. He’s also been beating the drum on the sanctity of maleness of priesthood, warning his followers that the President is seeking to invoke employment discrimination laws to force the Church into accepting women priests. And, if that weren’t enough, Rick Santorum warned yesterday that America is headed towards a French Revolution-style guillotining spree thanks to “President Obama and his overt hostility to faith in America.” The GOP presidential hopeful reiterated the claim today in Oklahoma, suggesting that the left wants public decapitations and that the Affordable Care Act is the first step.

Not all conservative are opposed to abortion…Conserv columnist Cal Thomas, responding to charges by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that the GOP is waging a war on contraception, told the Conservative Political Action Caucus yesterday “I think that she is the best argument in favor of her parents using contraception.”

And all Catholics are not opposed to sex… The bankruptcy hearings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have revealed more than 8,000 previously unreported instances of alleged sexual abuse of children, according to one attorney representing the victims. The charges cover a span of 60 years and implicate a group of 100 alleged offenders, including nuns, church workers and some 75 priests.

I may be feeling better, but all this crap does make me want to throw up….

Related

I see one more male face setting us straight on the issue of a woman’s access to contraceptives I’m going to heave. When the good old boys in the Catholic church are capable of keeping their Catholic private parts under their vestments, we’ll talk….
It’s 2012, and we’re talking access to birth control? Seriously?

If we’re talking the “restoration” of religious freedom as it pertains to exempting people from certain health insurance coverages, let’s apply it equally! How about cutting off all those medications like Cialis and Viagra so we’re not promoting such virility in the first place. I mean, is your erectile dysfunction really more deserving than say, preventing an unintended pregnancy? Puh-lease!

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